Ten years ago, a beautiful 19-year-old cheerleader went missing from a small Texas town.  Her disappearance still haunts the place and the people who vowed to find Trumanell "True" Branson, but couldn't.  Although he has been cleared by the authorities, many believe True's younger brother, Wyatt, killed her.  Especially after a new documentary focuses the spotlight on him once more.  His standing in the town becomes even more precarious when a young girl is seen at his home.  The recluse claims he found the mute, abused child on the side of the road.  Is Wyatt, a presumed murderer, really being a Good Samaritan?  Or does he have more sinister plans for the mysterious girl he calls Angel?  Who is she, anyway?  Where did she come from?  And, most importantly, who hurt her?

Odette Tucker—daughter of the town's beloved police chief, now a cop in her own right—feels an immediate kinship with Angel.  She doesn't want to believe that Wyatt, her high school boyfriend, could hurt anyone, but it's her duty to protect her town.  As she investigates one lost girl in the present, her thoughts turn constantly to True.  What really happened to Odette's old friend?  Can the two cases possibly be connected?  The more Odette digs, the more dangerous her investigation becomes.  Will she be the next woman to disappear from a town steeped in secrets?

Tense, atmospheric mysteries are my jam, so I was all in for this gritty thriller.  We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin stars a brave police officer with a tough exterior, a titanium leg, and a soft, loyal heart.  Odette has her flaws, but all in all, she's a likable, root-worthy heroine.  The supporting cast members (with a few exceptions, most notably Maggie and crew) are less affable, but still intriguing in their contrasting complexity.  An atmospheric Texas setting provides a vivid backdrop to the story, with some small-town politics thrown in for added tension and drama.  Plot-wise, the tale is gripping, with plenty of conflict to keep it interesting.  I saw the killer coming, yes, but not their motive.  There were a few other twists along the way, including a unique story shift that really caught me by surprise.  While I'm still not sure I liked the jarring swerve, it definitely added an intriguing layer to the story.  While We Are All the Same in the Dark is a raw, depressing tale, it's a mostly satisfying one that kept me burning through its pages, eager to know what was going to happen next.  This is the first book I've read by Heaberlin, but believe you me, I'll be checking out her others.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other small-town-big-secrets thrillers, but no specific titles are coming to mind.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of We Are All the Same in the Dark from the generous folks at Penguin Random House via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

Did you know that each year in the United States about 600,000 people go missing?  Most vanish in populated places.  The majority of them are found alive and in a short amount of time.  While these statistics are comforting in a way, the one Jon Billman is concerned about is this—around 1600 people are currently missing from North America's public lands (including national parks, national forests, and BLM land).  And this, Billman says, is likely a vast understatement.  For various reasons, hundreds go missing on federal land every year; many are never found.  

In The Cold Vanish, the writer uses the story of Jacob Gray (link contains spoilers)—a 22-year-old from California who disappeared in Washington's Olympic Peninsula while on a solo bicycling trip—as a springboard to explore these disappearing acts.  Who is most likely to vanish on public land?  Why?  And what is being done to locate the missing?  Billman discusses obstacles to finding people in the wild (vast acreage, inclement weather, difficult terrain, bureaucratic red tape, etc.) as well as the lengths that volunteers (including a group of dedicated Bigfoot hunters) have gone to to find missing hikers, bicyclers, and explorers.  Since so many of the circumstances surrounding these disappearances are strange, even inexplicable, Billman also talks about the more out-there explanations embraced by some: aliens, Sasquatch, and other otherworldly explanations.  The levity of this discussion is over-balanced, however, by those about how a missing persons investigation affects the family and friends who are left behind with no answers and no closure.  It's heartbreaking. 

Although there has apparently been a bit of a hubbub over Billman's portrayal of Jacob Gray, including some "facts" of the case that Billman may have gotten wrong, I found his coverage of Jacob's case to be both sensitive and absorbing.  On the whole, The Cold Vanish is very informative, compulsively readable, and highly compelling.  Also, sad and disturbing.  Although I read the book quickly, what I learned has stayed with me.  Haunted me.  My biggest takeaway: always maintain a healthy respect for Mother Nature, which will kill you just as soon as cradle you.  When exploring, stay on established paths, don't venture out alone, take a cell phone, and always—always—be prepared with emergency supplies.  Not doing any one of these, as Billman so clearly points out, can be deadly.

*Thanks to Lark for recommending this book to me.  You can see her excellent review of The Cold Vanish here.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books by Jon Krakauer, especially Into the Wild, as well as Carried by Michelle Schmidt and Angie Taylor)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

When a bullied 16-year-old girl goes missing, no one seems too concerned.  Except her classmate, Matthew Crimstein, whose grandmother is a criminal attorney with her own t.v. show.  When Hester Crimstein learns about Naomi Pine's disappearance from Matthew, she enlists the help of Wilde, a man who was once a feral child found in the woods by hikers.  Now Wilde lives off the grid, interacting with others only rarely.  His almost preternatural instincts, however, make him an excellent private investigator.  He takes the case mostly as a favor to Matthew, who is his godson.  

Wilde's snooping around leads him to Naomi's bully, which in turn leads him to the dark secrets of several wealthy, influential men.  If they get what they want, will it lead to Naomi's rescue?  Or is it too late for the missing teenager?  It's up to Wilde to solve the puzzling mystery.

I find stories about feral children fascinating, so when I read the plot summary of The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben, that aspect of the novel drew me right in.  Unfortunately, what proves to be the most interesting part of the story is only a teensy-tiny bit of the tale, which I found disappointing.  as Wilde's past is infinitely more intriguing than his present.  While he's a sympathetic character, he's not entirely likable.  Likable characters are, in fact, in very short supply in this novel.  The only one I would care to read more about is Rola.  Plot-wise, The Boy From the Woods is all kinds of melodramatic and far-fetched.  The story was gripping enough to propel me to finish the book, but it was nowhere near as suspenseful and thrilling as I thought it would be.  Thanks to loosey-goosey crafting, an implausible plot, characters I didn't care about, and lackluster prose, I didn't exactly love this book.  I'll be generous and say it was just an average read for me, nothing more.  I've heard lots of good things about Coben, but if this book is typical of his work, I won't be reading more by him.

(Readalikes:  Um, nothing is coming to mind.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

When I was a new mom, I had a recurring nightmare about losing my baby.  In the dream, I ran from infant to infant, frantically scrutinizing each of their faces only to realize, to my utter horror, that I had no idea what my own child looked like!  How could I rescue my baby if I couldn't even recognize them?  It was a terrifying thought.  

In Until I Find You, Rea Frey takes these common parental fears to a whole new level, creating a story that is decidedly unnerving.  It centers around Rebecca Gray, mom to 3-month-old Jackson.  As a recent widow and a new mother, Bec is battling grief, exhaustion, stress, and loneliness.  To add insult to injury, she has a degenerative eye disease, which led to the dissolution of her career as a professional cellist and has now robbed her almost wholly of her vision.  Desperate to prove her independence, Bec soldiers on, but her life is not an easy one.  

Bec thinks she's just being paranoid when she gets the odd sensation that something is not quite right.  She feels as if someone is watching her.  At home, things seem to have been disturbed the slightest amount.  A friend dismisses Bec's fears, urging her to get some rest.  She does, but when she awakes and goes to retrieve her son from his crib, she finds another baby in his place.  Sure she's going crazy, Bec checks again.  Even though she's never seen Jackson's delicate features clearly, she's positive this is not him.  A mother—even a blind one—knows her own child.  Doesn't she?  Bec has no family and her friends can't be certain whether the baby is Jackson or not.  So many infants look so alike, after all.  There has been so much upheaval in Bec's life that, really, who can blame her for becoming a little...overwrought?  Not caring what anyone else thinks, Bec plunges ahead, getting the police involved in the baffling situation.  Everyone might believe she's insane, but she's determined to find her son.  No matter what.  Is the baby in Bec's house Jackson?  If he's not, who is he?  And where has Jackson gone?

Like I said, it's a chilling premise.  It leads to an intriguing mystery, which kept me turning pages, wanting to know what was going to happen next.  True, I didn't find Bec, who's whiny and victim-y, super likable.  Still, I sympathized with her.  I did see the story's big plot twist coming, which was a little disappointing.  More so is the fact that it's totally far-fetched, which made it feel less than satisfying.  All things considered, then, Until I Find You was just an okay read for me.  It's engrossing, but I didn't love the characters and the ending irritated me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt and The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

After certain decisions made on her last case, Shana Merchant—a senior investigator with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI)—is on administrative leave pending a psychological evaluation.  Unsure quite what to do with herself, she's itching to get back to what she does best: work.  When the remains of her uncle, who disappeared twenty years ago, are discovered in Swanton, Vermont, Shana returns to her hometown.  While pondering her uncle's case, she learns that a young boy has been kidnapped near her current home in the Thousand Islands area of New York.  It's clear to Shana that the incidents are connected and that a challenge is being issued to her by serial killer Blake Bram.  He wants her to solve her uncle's murder in order to save the missing child.  With little choice in the matter, Shana begins two intense investigations that will lead her into the one place she never wants to visit—her past.

I enjoyed Death in the Family, the first book in Tessa Wegert's Shana Merchant series, so I was all in for the second installment.  Although the latter didn't suck me in quite as much as the former, I still found The Dead Season to be a tense, gripping read.  Shana's an intriguing character, so it was interesting to learn more about her childhood and her relationship with Bram.  Both of the cases she works in this one are compelling, with twists that keep the story from getting dull or stale.  The identity of Shana's uncle's killer caught me by surprise, even though it shouldn't have—when I thought back over the story, I could clearly see all the clues Wegert dropped along the way that I totally missed.  All of these elements make The Dead Season a compelling page turner.  It held my interest and made me even more eager to see where this engrossing series goes next.  

(Readalikes:  Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert)

Maggie D'Arcy never planned on becoming a cop.  Not until her 23-year-old cousin, Erin Flaherty, went missing two decades ago in Ireland, never to be seen again.  Her amateur investigation then fueled her passion for solving mysteries, leading to her career as a homicide detective in New York.  Now 45, Maggie is a divorced single mom, who's passionate about her daughter and her work.  Still haunted by Erin's disappearance, she can't stop thinking about her still-missing cousin.

When Maggie receives a phone call from Dublin, informing her that Erin's scarf has been found and that it might be a clue to a current missing persons case, Maggie flies to Ireland to help local police with their investigation.  The disappearance of a Galway schoolteacher is just as confounding as Erin's case.  Are the two connected?  As she retraces her cousin's steps, interviewing those who were close to Erin, and searching for clues, Maggie becomes increasingly frustrated.  She's especially confused by her growing attraction to Conor Kearney, a former co-worker of Erin's who's now an associate professor at Trinity College.  The man seems to know more than he's saying.  Did he have something to do with Erin's disappearance?  If he didn't, who did?  Maggie is determined to find out what happened to the missing teacher and to solve Erin's case, once and for all.  Even if it means putting herself in a killer's crosshairs.  

I always dig an atmospheric mystery and The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor is certainly that.  The first in a series starring capable, determined Maggie D'Arcy, it's an engaging, compelling novel that moves slowly but surely toward a resolution I didn't see coming.  The characters are sympathetic and likable, the Irish backdrop is vivid and immersive, and the plot is engrossing and twisty.  Even though its pace is more measured than other thrillers, The Mountains Wild kept me eagerly turning pages.  I enjoyed it enough that I immediately downloaded the next book in the series (A Distant Grave, available June 21, 2021) from NetGalley.  Needless to say, I'm excited to see where the series goes.  It's always exciting to find a new one to love!

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books by Tana French, Dervla McTiernan, Tessa Wegert, and Jane Casey)

A seasoned San Francisco missing persons detective, 35-year-old Anna Hart is used to dealing with the atrocities that are a daily part of her job.  Although she can steel herself enough to perform her duties, each case embeds itself deeply inside of her.  When tragedy strikes in her personal life, the emotional toll throws her over an edge that forces her to take a step back from work.  Taking a leave of absence, she retreats to Mendocino, the coastal town where she lived as a child after being taken in by a loving foster family.  It's the place she feels most at home, most at peace, making it the perfect spot from whence to lick her wounds.

Anna is supposed to be resting, but when she discovers that a local girl has gone missing, she can't just sit idly by.  The Mendocino sheriff, an old pal of Anna's, is thrilled when she offers to assist him with the case.  She's puzzled by the disappearance of Cameron Curtis, the 15-year-old daughter of a famous, wealthy actress.  The girl had been sheltered and kept separate from the local kids.  If she ran off, with whom did she go?  If someone took her, how did they get access to her?  And what have they done with her?  Cameron's case reminds Anna too much of the last time a girl from Mendocino went missing, twenty some years ago.  Is it possible the disappearances are related?  Whatever it takes from her, Anna vows to find Cameron as well as the long-missing Jenny Ledford.  Asking probing questions in the tight-knit community soon puts the detective in the spotlight—an increasingly dangerous place to be.  Can she find the answers she needs to find the missing?  Or will she be the next woman to vanish without a trace?

When the Stars Go Dark (available April 13, 2021) is a new literary thriller by Paula McLain.  Because it's more of the former than the latter, the story moves slowly (but steadily) with more emphasis on the characters and their relationships than on the twin mysteries at the novel's center.  The characters are sympathetic and likable enough; the prose is skilled, even poetic in places; and the plot is suspenseful and engaging.  The mystery part of the story is pretty straightforward, without any surprises.  In fact, I saw the "bad guys" coming from a mile away.  Usually, I hate predictability in a mystery/thriller, but it didn't bother me too much in this one since the book is really more about Anna finding herself than solving another case.  I don't know if McLain plans to write more books starring Anna Hart, but I would definitely read a series with her as the leading lady.  I enjoyed this broody, atmospheric novel overall and will be on the lookout for more stories like this one from McLain.

(Readalikes:  A million titles should be coming to mind, but I'm drawing a blank.  Help?)

Learning to be a proper society lady—even in the enlightened year of 1924 in the modern city of Chicago—can be downright dull, especially for someone like Piper Sail.  Her tongue refuses to be curbed, she can't sew worth beans, and the silly pranks she pulls off at school are the stuff of legend.  She may be headed to college in just a few months, but she still hasn't quite learned to control her penchant for mischief.  Piper's best friend, Lydia LeVine, is the opposite.  She's a sweet, obedient girl whose only sin is her desperate crush on her family's chauffer.  Although Piper has warned Lydia not to do more than flirt with a man so far below her station, Piper worries her pleas are falling on deaf ears.  When Lydia disappears, Piper is certain she has run off and eloped.  With each day that passes with no word from her best friend, however, she becomes more distressed.  Where is Lydia?  Her naiveté and epileptic seizures would have made her especially vulnerable to anyone's nefarious schemes.  Piper fears something terrible has happened to her friend.

Although handsome detective Mariano Cassano is on the case, he's not finding answers fast enough for Piper.  With the reluctant help of a couple friends, she launches her own investigation.  As she explores Chicago's ugly underbelly, so full of corruption and crime, she realizes for the first time just how dangerous her hometown really is.  In a gritty city run by mobsters, anything could have happened to a woman as young and innocent as Lydia.  Piper's own neck is on the line as she follows a perilous path littered with disturbing clues.  Will she find its end in time to save Lydia?  Or will she become another rich girl mysteriously disappeared from swanky, secretive Astor Street?

I love me a good historical mystery, so I was naturally drawn to The Lost Girl of Astor Street, a YA novel by Stephanie Morrill.  The colorful Jazz Age setting makes for an appealing backdrop to a compelling story.  Piper and her associates are warm, sympathetic characters who are easy to like and root for.  While I saw a lot of the plot's twists coming (unlike Piper, who's a little slow on the uptake), it offered enough surprises to keep me reading.  The tale's structure is a bit loosey-goosey with extraneous characters (Walter, for instance) and story lines that don't really go anywhere (like Piper's flirtation with Jeremiah).  Perhaps Morrill left some possibilities dangling for a potential sequel?  I'd read that!  In spite of these small irritants, I enjoyed The Lost Girl of Astor Street.  It's an engrossing, entertaining mystery that kept me reading.  

One last note:  The Lost Girl of Astor Street is published by Blink, a division of HarperCollins that specializes in clean, uplifting literature for young adults.  Although there's no graphic content in the book, it does refer to issues like prostitution, white slavery, mob violence, etc. which warrants a PG-13 rating (at least in my opinion).  Also, while my library put a "FAITH" label on the novel's spine, I wouldn't really consider it Christian fiction.  Praying and going to church is mentioned a couple of times in the story, but religion isn't really discussed.  If you're put off by the "FAITH" distinction, don't be.  There's nothing preachy here.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a bit of These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, mild sexual content, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

In a quaint Indiana community, 3-year-old Alice Fine was kidnapped from her front yard.  Luckily, she was rescued less than 24 hours later by her policeman father.  Although Alice was not hurt in the ordeal, the family was traumatized enough to remove themselves to Illinois in an attempt to put it all behind them.  Although she has not accomplished a lot in the three decades since her abduction, Alice is passionate about her work with the Doe Pages, a website that encourages amateur sleuths to study missing persons cases with the goal of finding the lost, giving their families closure, and bringing criminals to justice.

On one of her frequent website searches, Alice is shocked when a photograph of her abductor flashes on the screen.  Although it's deleted almost immediately, Alice can't forget what she's seen.  With the help of other Doe Pages devotees, she launches her own investigation into the man's identity.  When she meets another woman, 30-year-old Merrily Cruz, who is searching for the same man, the two form a tenuous partnership.  Who is the man they seek?  As they set about answering that question, both will discover shocking secrets, lies, and deceptions that will change everything they know about themselves and each other.

I love me a good psychological thriller and Lori Rader-Day has written several that I've really enjoyed.  The Lucky One—her latest—is, however, a bit of an exception.  The characters are almost entirely unlikeable.  Our "heroines" are hot messes, who are immature, unambitious, self-centered, and just not all that appealing.  Plotwise, the story starts off slowly, carefully building up the tension and suspense.  Unfortunately, a rushed ending spoils the effect, leading to a disappointing finale that left me with lots of questions.  The story is unfailingly depressing but also undeniably engrossing, including some twists I didn't see coming.  Overall, though, it just didn't come together well enough to satisfy me.  All things considered, The Lucky One was just an average read for me.

(Readalikes:  Um, nothing is coming readily to mind.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, sexual content, and depictions of illegal drug use

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Lucky One from the generous folks at William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins).  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

There's a reason I'm not a professional writer of plot summaries for novels!  Rarely can I come up with something as succinct but telling as the one above.  It says everything you need to know about The Sun Down Motel, the newest haunting thriller from Simone St. James, without giving anything away.  And you do want to go into this one with as few preconceived notions as possible.  Suffice it to say, the book offers up lots of The Shining-ish thrills and chills.  Riley Sager calls it "deliciously creepy" and I can't think of a more apt description.   Although it was freaky enough to make me dive under my covers every time my house creaked even though I was reading it in broad daylight, it's a fun kind of freaky.  I enjoyed the colorful characters, the eerie setting, and the pulse-pounding plot, so much so that I read The Sun Down Motel almost in one sitting.  If you dig a good scare, don't miss this one.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Shining by Stephen King and The Widow's House by Carol Goodman)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, disturbing subject matter, and blood/gore

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Sun Down Motel from the generous folks at Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

--

Are you interested in winning your own copy of The Sun Down Motel?  Its publisher is generously offering one hardcover copy of the book for me to give away here at BBB.  All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter widget below.  Please note that only readers with U.S. addresses are eligible to enter.  Good luck! 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

In 1985, Maureen Haddaway—a young woman trying to start anew—arrives in Opal Beach, New Jersey, one summer with the traveling carnival for which she works.  Drawn to the wealth and sparkle that define life for the rich townies, Maureen's paycheck-to-paycheck existence becomes entwined with their idyllic lives.  Before the summer ends, she vanishes without a trace.  It's assumed that a vagabond like Maureen simply moved on without telling anyone, but is it true?  Or did something more sinister happen to her?

Thirty-plus years later, 40-year-old Allison Simpson comes to Opal Beach to lick her wounds.  After a video of the television meteorologist ranting wildly about her cheating husband goes viral, she's fired from her job.  With nothing left to lose, Allison accepts a house-sitting gig on the shore, figuring she can get some much-needed R&R while figuring out what to do with herself now.  She hears the story of Maureen Haddaway's disappearance from Maureen's former Opal Beach BFF.  Before she knows it, Allison is obsessed with figuring out what happened to the beautiful carnie.  It soon becomes evident that someone in town does not want Allison digging into the past.  Can Allison figure out what happened to Maureen before she becomes the next woman to mysteriously vanish from Opal Beach?

Yeah, yeah, I know the premise at the center of One Night Gone, a debut novel by Tara Laskowski, sounds awfully familiar.  I've read dozens of mystery/thrillers with the same basic plotline.  Still, it's one I'm always sucked in by, especially when an author puts their own unique spin on it.  Unfortunately, Laskowski doesn't do anything special with this one.  The story feels far-fetched and generic throughout.  Its cast consists of cliché, one-dimensional characters who aren't even likable.  While I did want to know what really happened to Maureen, I can't say I cared overly much about either her or Allison.  Neither one appealed to me.  As far as plot goes, the tale is predictable, with no real twists or turns to keep the reader on their toes.  Overall, then, this "thriller" didn't offer many thrills.  For me, it was an average read at best.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a couple F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, sexual content, and depictions of underage drinking/partying and illegal drug use

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of One Night Gone from the generous folks at Harlequin via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When a woman goes missing in the Colorado wilderness, Sheriff Colm McCormac calls on skilled and capable Pru Hathaway to find her.  An archaeological law enforcement ranger for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the 42-year-old is also the handler of the only search and rescue dog in the county.  If anyone can find the missing hunter, it's Pru and her dog.  Despite few clues and worsening weather, Pru is determined to find the woman, no matter what the risk.  The more she learns about Amy Raye Latour, a 32-year-old wife and mother, the more determined—even obsessed—Pru becomes with solving the mystery of Amy Raye's disappearance.  Can she find the woman before exposure kills her?  Or is she already on the hunt for a corpse?

I've mentioned before that I'm a fan of exciting search and rescue stories set in remote places where danger lurks around every corner.  That explains why I picked up Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets.  Did it satisfy my craving for riveting action/adventure reading?  Kind of.  The novel definitely tells a compelling story.  Problem is, the plot gets bogged down by details.  Lots and lots and lots of details.  If you're looking for adrenaline-fueled action with shocking twists and turns to keep you burning through pages, you're not going to find them here.  This is a straight-up survival/ search-and-rescue story, told from the alternating perspectives of the woman doing the surviving and the one doing the searching.  As we get to know both, their secrets and backstories are slowly revealed, making the book more character- than plot-driven.  Except for Amy Raye, who's kind of hard to take, the cast is likable and interesting.  The prose is capable, just way too detailed for me.  For all these reasons, I liked Breaking Wild but didn't end up loving it.  Looking back, I had the same complaints with The Last Woman in the Forest, so maybe Les Becquets just isn't for me.

(Readalikes:  The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets and The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a couple F-bombs, plus milder expletives), sexual content, violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Breaking Wild from Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Kira Bennett knows what it means to be a kid lost and alone in the wilderness.  The memories of her earliest years as a feral child doing whatever it takes to survive still haunt her, even though she was rescued at five years old and adopted into a loving family.  Now 17, Kira finds purpose in helping her adoptive mother train Search and Rescue dogs, so no one—especially a child—has to live the way she once did.

When Bales Bennett, Kira's estranged birth father, comes to her adoptive family asking for help locating a child who's gone missing from a campsite, Kira wants in.  Along with her adoptive mother, foster brother, and two of their friends (including the hot, but possibly dangerous Gabriel Cortez), the group of handlers head to Sierra Glades National Park with one goal: find 9-year-old Bella Anthony.  As the search grows increasingly dangerous, Kira is pummelled with crushing memories of her own past, especially as secrets about her birth parents and her new family start coming to light.  Can Kira clear her head enough to find little Bella?  What truths will she learn about herself along the way?

Books about search and rescue operations in remote wilderness settings always intrigue me, so naturally, I was drawn to The Lovely and the Lost, a YA novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.  It's peopled with characters who are likable, but not original or really memorable.  The teens don't speak like real kids, nor are they really treated as such since they have little adult supervision throughout the novel and are basically left to do whatever they please.  This, as well as the fact that the teens are even involved in a search and rescue operation of this kind, makes the plot seem far-fetched.  The purpose behind Bella's disappearance also seems illogical.  The story is fast-paced, though, as well as compelling, even if it doesn't always make sense.  I appreciate that The Lovely and the Lost is a clean YA novel with no annoying insta-love, but for me, there are some big holes in its construction.  Add to that a weird, unsatisfying ending and, meh, this read just didn't do it for me.  It was propelling enough that I finished the book, but I certainly didn't love it.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah and Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, scenes of peril, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Lovely and the Lost at Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Keeping devastating secrets from her past away from her safe little life in a Chicago suburb has taken a toll on 30-year-old Bree Finch.  A former stay-at-home mom, she's now separated from her husband, working a part-time job, and seeing her young daughter only on the weekends.  She knows these changes make her look unstable, can see the judgmental looks in the eyes of the other moms, but Bree has to do what she has to do to keep Paul and Charlotte safe.

While at the park alone one day, Bree witnesses a shocking crime.  A child is kidnapped.  Although no one else sees the incident and no parent at the park is missing their kid, Bree knows what she saw, even if the police think she's making up a story to get attention.  If the authorities won't take the disappearance seriously, she will have to investigate on her own.  When the corpse of a young woman is subsequently found in the park, Bree is surer than ever that something horrible has happened.  Soon, she's fully embroiled in a situation that's spinning out of her control.  Who is the dead woman?  And what really happened to the boy Bree saw being taken?  Did her eyes deceive her?  Or is the child even now in grave danger?  

I'm a big fan of Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series, so I'm always up for a new book by her.  A standalone, Wherever She Goes is not as unique or riveting as other of the author's crime thrillers, but it is compelling.  The characters and plotline might be cliché, but I still burned through the pages of Wherever She Goes because I cared about Bree and had to know what was going to happen to her.  In spite of that, this one ended up being another like-it-didn't-love-it read.  It's not Armstrong's best work, but I'm still a fan.  Her mystery novels are always engrossing, even if some are better than others.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of lots of other mystery/thrillers, but no specific title is coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, innuendo, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find